Beyond Cash Cows and Sacred Cows -...

Beyond Cash Cows and Sacred Cows

Sustainable Development means different things to different people. So, while everyone agrees thatdevelopment must be sustainable, the disagreement is about what constitutes development, and aboutsustainable for whom.

At the heart of the debate on sustainability in today'scontext is the issue of ecological sustenance. Even ijnot seen in purely bio-resource terms, an anthropo-centric perspective of sustainability still needs toaddress the question - development and sustainabilityfor which part of humanity. While everybody, includingInternational Bodies, pays lip service to equity, justiceand equal opportunity, the practice of development isheavily loaded against the marginalised and theoppressed. Today it is unfashionable to even speak ofthe oppressed! Tyranny is equated only with military

Inside...The Artisan Way 3Where has all the water gone? 5An Ethical Framework

for Sustainable Communities 6Parajuli's Paradigm 8Mondragon 10Drought: Misplaced Priorities & Misuse 12The Bellagio Principles 13Energy Efficiency And

A Low Carbon-Use World Economy 15Living Religion : Hinduism & Ecology 16

CED documentation is for your personal reference and study only

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and socialist dictatorships, not with the economic and cultural hegemony of triumphalist capitalism.

What has this to do with sustainability? What has this to do with ethics and climate change, one may ask?

The practice of development in the dominant modernisation paradigm is heavily loaded in favour of the rulingclasses, and in global terms, in favour of the richer countries. These practices have been foundto be polluting,wasteful and inequitous, if not downright self-indulgent, and most contributive to climate change -for theworse. Yet, international negotiations are stuck in the face of the uncompromising attitude of the haves to'sustain their own development.' That is the irony. That is the tyranny.

Thus, on the one hand there is the need to expose the contradictions, and contest the iniquitous paradigm.But by itself that does not solve the problem of sustainability. Given current consumption levels that are feltto be 'desirable', and given current and projected technological possibilities, development practices as weknow them, Cash Cows, are clearly unsustainable, and dangerous to human existence, even if equity ismiraculously achieved.

Hence, on the other hand, there is also the need to present a paradigm of development that is sustainable for t

all. There have been widespread efforts throughout these decades, pioneering efforts spread all over theglobe, towards the theory and practice in such a paradigm. It is being invented, discovered and practisedamong different sections of society. The efforts are dispersed and inchoate. They range from the political tothe cultural and the economic. And that is the way it should be, if in the final analysis, it has to become thedominant paradigm - it must encompass and deliver to all sections of society. This is the other face ofglobalisation, one that needs to be recognised.

But there is a problem here. Most often sustainability in the alternative mode is defined as conservation,frugality, and sacrifice - in ascetic terms. Sacred Cows! While asceticism has been apart of every civilisationand culture, it has a special niche in the Indian context. But to posit such a paradigm as universally desirableis to make a virtue out of necessity, and to condemn millions, the majority of humanity, to permanentsubsistence living, and ensure the sustenance of the unsustainable for the few!

The search for sustainable development thus needs to go on - beyond the Cash Cows vs Sacred Cows dialectic.

One part of the efforts oflNECC is, and will remain, that of identifying and contesting the unsustainablecontradictions and inequity inherent in the current dominant modernisation ideology - at the personal, local,regional and international level. The other part is the promotion of alternative discourse and practices inevery aspect of our life - social, cultural, economic, and political that may lead to an overarching, integratedparadigm of sustainable development as if people, all people, mattered.

In this issue, apart from some features that we hope to make regular, we bring you some reflections on oneof the key constructs in the theory and practice of sustainable development - the community at the local level.There are also a few extracts that articulate current thinking on what constitutes sustainable development.

We also bring you a demonstrative approach to the issues relating to traditional crafts. This looks at theproblems relating to raw material, credit, production and markets for the handloom sector in AndhraPradesh; and demonstrates the integration of traditional craft with modern tools of analysis, as well as withtechnology at some of these different levels of operation.

This is a time of severe drought. The media is full of it. What lessons are there for us in this? What are thesustainability issues regarding drought? We bring you some findings and comments on this issue too. •

-Guest Editor

2 eco-ethic

The Artisan WayDastkar Andhra 's Story

Uzramma

eco-ethic

Dastkar Andhra (DA) began in 1989, as a small groupdedicated to providing support to artisan industries inAndhra Pradesh. If one looks beyond the artificialtraditional/modern, primitive/hi-tech divides, one is ableto see these industries as providing sustainable alternativesto much of the industrial production that is devastatingour environment today. DA not only believes that thereis a better alternative, but also believes that it is throughthis better way that it is possible to challenge the globaleconomic system.

When we began work in 1989, it was in a practical way,addressing the needs that artisans themselves felt werethe most pressing. Ask any artisan, and he or she wil l tellyou that it is the marketing of their products that is theirbiggest worry. Other and deeper problems came to light- the credit needs, the raw material problems, productionand marketing management. It became clear to us that wewould not be able to solve these problems, but that ourrole was to provide a model for the research andconsultancy for the industry that would function underthe direction of the practitioners themselves.

We have worked in several craft industries, though notall of our initiatives have succeeded, or been in the rightdirection. It is in the three artisan crafts of carpet makingin Eluru, Kalamkari painting in Kalahasti, and cottonhandloom weaving in Chinnur that we have workedintensively, and where we have developed our method-ology of work.

Eluru: The carpet weavers of Eluru are like most otherprimary producers working for traders, bonded to theiremployers. We started here in 1989, with four familieswho we had taken over from a small karkhana that wasclosing down. In Eluru, to produce good quality carpets,we had to overcome many problems, finding good wool,designing and marketing the carpets, and running thekarkhana in a way that would enable the weavers toshare in the responsibilities. DA has maintained its linkswith Eluru, and we continue to give occasional orders tothe weavers. The carpets now have a small but steadymarket through a network of friends in England.

Kalahasti: The art of Kalamkari employs the techniques

of vegetable treatment of cotton cloth, drawing, veg-etable dyeing, and hand-painting with mordants andcolours, interspersed with washing in running water andcowdung bleaching, to produce wall hangings depictingstories from the Puranas.

Our work in Kalahasti began as a one-year joint projectwith the Crafts Council of India in 1990-91, after whichthey withdrew. DA continued to work there for the nextfive years. Here it was not technique that we taught, butaesthetics, quality, and above all, group functioning.After some struggles, we were able to form a group of 8artists who have been working as the Srikalahasti KalaKarula Sangam.

Gradually the Sangam developed a pride in its work. Asa group, the Sangam is now able to get loans on its ownfrom banks, which it is careful to repay. In spite of theusual dissensions and disagreements, the groupcontinues to function even without DA'shelp. Now allwe provide is marketing assistance.

Chinnur: Chinnur has been our greatest success, not interms of the size of the project, but for the fact that herethe ideal relation between producer group and resourceagency has, after 8 years of collective work, evolved,and the weavers of Chinnur have become ourcollaborators rather than remaining our clients. We beganwork here in 1991, with six weaving families out of the40 or so that were ready to work with us.

It was in Chinnur that we ourselves learnt natural dyeingon cotton, the most difficult material to dye. We learntalong with the weavers, taught again by the greatChandramouli. It was the Chinnur weavers who got theten 3 deep matti jars made from the local potters, whohelped with the construction of the shed, got the welldug, installed the jars, and finally learnt the skills of vatdyeing from Yellappa,our 80 year old resource personfrom Anantapur district. Now they are managing thevat, and producing what is possibly the only traditionallydyed indigo fabric in the world today. Chinnur hasbecome a resource centre, visited by groups of artisanswanting to learn about the vat.

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Natural Dyeing : Natural dyeing has been a constanttheme in our work, beginning in 1989. With the weaversof Eluru and Chinnur we developed our methodologyfor teaching natural dyeing. DA has specialized in trainingartisan groups and resource persons for the artisan field,and over the years we have trained groups from mostparts of the country, and artisans from Uzbekistan.Recently, this was followed up in Kyrgystan, where ourconsultant taught artisans from 5 Central Asian countriesnatural dyeing on wool and silk.

Since 1996, DA has been involved with some cottonhandloom weaving cooperatives scattered throughoutthe state.

DA' s work with the co-ops again began with marketing.When we held our firstexhibition in Delhi in May '96,the co-ops were convinced thatthe public did not wanthandloom cloth, and that itcould sell only at a discount.We took 15 co-ops to Delhi,and in the space of 3 1/2 dayssold Rs 10.5 lakhs worth ofgoods. The impact of that firstshow was electrifying. Theshows had to be stoppedbecause the apex body of the co-ops, APCO, complainedabout the competition.

The only other alternative to the co-operative system forthe handloom weaver today is to work under a master-weaver, an entrepreneur who controls the credit as wellas access to the market, and in relation to whom theweaver becomes a mere supplier of labour rather than anindependent producer. These middlemen prefer to dealin the high value, low volume products in which they canmake a higher margin. The result is that the millions ofordinary middle class customers in India who are reallyinterested in buying and wearing handloom cloth, are notable to get it at reasonable prices, and in good quality,good colours and designs.

We are now setting up alternative marketing systemsthrough which handloom cotton products of good qualityand good design can reach the customer without the highoverheads of the commercial marketing system. One ofthese systems is the household marketing system, through

which housewives and others can take small quantitiesof stock from a central supplier, and sell from theirhomes. The first such enterprise which we set up witha housewife in August '98, sold produce worth overRs. 1 lakh in the first 8 months, Rs. 3 lakhs the secondyear, and about Rs. 5 lakhs this year, which is her thirdyear in business. We also have a team that conductssmall, low cost exhibitions in community halls, colleges,etc.

Through these various marketing channels, we are ableto give the customer access to a wide range of mediumpriced fabrics. One of our concerns is to be able to linkup the cotton weaving industry with small farmersgrowing cotton. With our associates, the PPST

Foundation, we are workingon developing a set ofmachines that wil l make itpossible for cotton yarn to bespun by hand in the spinners'homes using the ambarcharkha developed by thekhadi movement, to which weare attaching small electricmotors. The new machineswi l l gin and card the cotton ona small scale in villages near

the cotton fields. Small scale ginning and carding wil llink up farmers with spinners, which wil l enable farmersto grow the varieties that do not need irrigation, fertilizer,orpesticides.

Conclusion: Handloom weavers are the largest groupof artisan producers in the country today. The issues thatneed to be raised in public debate and in the media are therights of producer communities to be recognized by theState as industries, with their concomitant entitlements ofinstitutional support for credit, training, research, etc.

DA is a very small enterprise, and its work by itself is notlikely to make much of an impact. Its role is more fordemonstration, and to raise the issues in the publicdebate, of the continued existence and well-being ofartisan industries, not just as museum show pieces, but asa viable industrial pattern of production, with producersrunning their own businesses, without degradation anddamage to their local environment. •

Uzramma

Contributing 23 per cent of the country'stotal textile production and employing over40 lakh workers directly and over 100 lakhpeople indirectly, the handloom sector is thebiggest job provider after agriculture. Itaccounts for a third of the country's totaltextile exports: in 1997-95 India exportedhandloom cloth worth Rs.1859 cr. - AshaKrishnakumar, Front line, April 14. 2000.

eco-ethic4<title>The Artisan Way</title><author>Uzramma</author><publication>Eco-Ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>Dastkar Andhra (DA) began in 1989, as a small group dedicated to providingsupport to artisan industries in Andhra Pradesh. If one looks beyond the artificial traditional/modern, primitive/hi-tech divides, one is able to see these industries as providingsustainable alternatives to much of the industrial production that is devastating our environmenttoday. DA not only believes that there is a better alternative, but also believes that it is throughthis better way that it is possible to challenge the global economic system.</description><entrydt>23/08/2008</entrydt><sd>AH</sd>

Where has all the water gone?

Ashish Kothari, in the Hindu, May 14, 2000.

eco-ethic

The country is waking up too late to the horrors ofdrought. A spectre that should, and could, have beenbanished long ago, is again stalking the land. Thequestion naturally arises: where has all the water thatrained in 12 successive good monsoons, gone? Theanswer has been staring us in the face. The rain hasfallen on increasingly barren lands, devoid of forestsand other vegetation, and run straight off rather thanpercolate slowly into the ground and recharge wellsand tanks. The rain has fallen on water tanks andcheckdams that are unable to retain it because theyhave silted up due to neglect by governments andcommunities.

A l l the resources, including money, which shouldhave gone into preventing deforestation, siltation, andother forms of land/water mismanagement, have goneinto grandiose schemes of big dams and canalnetworks, which have simply not delivered inproportion to what has been spent on them. Whateverrain water has been retained by rivers and ponds orseeped into the underground aquifers, has beenquickly sucked up by big cash-cropping farmers,cities and industries, leaving very little for smallfarmers and other rural poor. The current drought isa combination of debilitating centralisation of power,adoption of mega-solutions to micro problems, neglect

I of the critical role of forests, and pampering to theever increasing demands of large farmers, urbanitesand industries.

There is nothing new in the monsoon failing.Subnormal rainfall for years have always been a partof human existence, yet for thousands of years, ruraland urban communities learnt to adapt.

Centralisation of power in the pre-colonial andcolonial periods saw rapid changes in traditional sys-tems. The responsibility of managing smallwaterbodies passed from the local community orruler to centralised state agencies. The concept ofwater as a "national asset" was used to justify thistransfer, as if the local community could not betrusted with "national" property.

Coupled with this has been the rapid erosion of theearth's power to retain rainwater. In the past, even,arid lands such as in Kutch and Saurashtra hadextensive scrub vegetation which covered the landand acted as a sponge for the meagre rain that fell.

i

Finally, it has become clear that it is not the absolutequantity of water that is often lacking, but its skeweddistribution amongst consumers. Shamjibai Antala,who has pioneered innovative methods of rechargingwells in Saurashtra, says industries in this regiondraw about 30 crore litres of water a day even duringthe current drought.

Also instructive is the example of dozens of villagesand regions that have withstood the currentdrought, standing out like oases. This is no quirkof nature. Several hundred villages in Alwardistrict of Rajasthan are bearing up to the failure of therains, because over the last 15 years their residents,along with the non-government organisation TarunBharat Sangh, have built several thousand smallcheckdams that have recharged wells and under-ground aquifers, and even brought dying rivers backto life...In Dewas town of Madhya Pradesh, an enter-prising district collector has encouraged roof-toprainwater harvesting, substantially reducing depen-dence on scarce municipal supplies.

There are also striking examples of developmentaland attitudinal changes. In the Alwar villages, inManegaon, and many other sites, the limits of natureare well-recognised. Farmers have taken a pledge notto plant crops like sugarcane which devour water... Atother places, farmers have fought against theirresponsible removal of water for industries and cities.The more the empowerment of communities to managetheir resources, the less the chances of misuse andmaldevelopment being tolerated.

It is time that people everywhere learn from theshining examples set by NGO and sensitive officials.

Perhaps then we w i l l not have to wake up to anotherrude reminder that it is not nature that has been unkindto us, but our own short-sightedness and skewedpriorities.

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An Ethical Framework for Sustainable Communities

eco-ethic

An ethical basis

One of the painful realizations today is that the depletionof resources and the destruction of nature have beenallowed to take place in favour of so-called benefits ofgrowth. There is now concern and even anger whetherthe benefits have really justified the damage incurred. Anethical question that arises is whether a different set ofpriorities may be required as part of a solution to environ-mental problems. An even more serious ethical problemis that the group of people causing the environmentalproblems is quite different from the group of peopleexperiencing them. Hence, environmental imbalancesare inextricably tied up with the issue of ethics.

More specifically, theproblems of environmen-tal ethics are threefold:

•The first problem is thedepletion of resources.Natural resources havelimits. So the ethical question that arises is: If we use upall the resources, what about succeeding generations?Don't we have a responsibility to preserve some forthem? Don' ifuture generations have rights that need tobe taken into account when natural resources are beingused up thoughtlessly? This then is a question ofjustice for future generations.

• The second environmental problem has been posed byEco-centrists. Here the concern is with the destructionof nature and with upsetting the ecological balance.The ethical issue here is about the rights of non-humannatural beings who should be considered not simply asresources but as beings who are entitled to just treat-ment? The Eco-centrist perspective focuses on issuesof wilderness, nature conservancy, preservation ofextinct species, the protection of whales, dolphins andolive ridley turtles, etc. The purpose is to make theworld sustainable for the entire Eco-system and themeans is to respect the rights of animals and plants.This is an issue of justice for non-human beings.

• The third way of looking at environmental problemsconsists in viewing them as interconnected. The

environmental problems of one set of beings are affectedby the inordinate growth, lifestyle and consumptionpatterns of another set of beings. It is alarming when 20percent of the world consumes 80 percent of the energyresources, while the rest has to make do with whateverlittle remains. This third viewpoint then focuses onunequal patterns of lifestyle and consumption in Firstand Third Worlds and considers this as the startingpoint for the problem of sustainability. This is an issueof justice within generations.

Environmental problems then give rise to distinct ethicalquestions, but they all revolve around the issue of justice.So the ethical framework for any sustainable world or I

community is essen-tially a framework ofjustice. Justice has tobe the perspective,the priority and thefocus, whether it bejustice between gen-

. erations or justice forother non-human beings or justice within generations.

While all the three types of justice are connected, it is theviewpoint of this paper that justice for the present genera-tion is the starting point for any valid ethical discussion.Very simply, in any ethical discourse, one cannot thinkof justice for future generations if one does not start withjustice for the present generation. Similarly, one cannotspeak of justice for non-humans, if one is not first willingto concede justice to human beings. So justice for thepresent generation is the basis of our ethical framework.

From an individualistic ethics to a structural,communitarian ethics

What is clear is that the type of ethical discourse we areadvocating is one that concerns itself with the publicworld, with the world of economics and politics. Whatwe are advocating is a movement away from a purely'individualistic' ethics to a 'structural', 'communitarian'ethics.

Nowadays if you pick up a standard textbook of Busi-ness Ethics, you wil l find a disproportionately large

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amount of space devoted to unethical actions of indi-viduals and unethical intentions of business executives.In other words, the focus is on the actions and intentionsof individual persons.... instead of merely discussing thebehaviour of individual executives and managers, ethi-cal discourse should focus on the very structure of aims,methods, purposes and policies of multi-national andtransnational companies, the big financial institutions,the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and their policies. Whocontrols them and for what reasons? Are their policiesethical? What repercussions do they have? What are thestructures which allow TNCs to function literally with afree hand in the two-thirds world, just like any otherdomestic industry? A topical issue in international ethics

I would be, for instance, to examine the clauses of theM A I (Multilateral Agreement on Investment), an agree-ment signed last year bythe 29 members of theOECD and ask whetheror not this kind of policywould give rise in the two-thirds world to all kindsof dumping, environmental pollution, aggressive mar-keting, bribery, kick-backs, disregard for labour, andevaluate the ethical consequences of such an agreement.

Another aspect of structural morality is itscommunitarian dimension. Developing countries havebeen highly critical of the Western human rights

i agenda because, for the developing world, human rightsdoes not only signify the rights of an individual, butprimarily the rights of communities. The debate ofindividual rights versus community rights crystallizes inthe Intellectual Property Rights dispute. The patentingof neem is an example. For over 1500 years Indianfarmers were using neem-based bio-pesticides and medi-cines. Recently however a few Japanese and US firms,one of whom is W.R. Grace, have filed patents onformulae for neem-based solutions, emulsions, and fora neem-based toothpaste. Grace has set about manufac-turing and commercializing the product by establishinga base in India. As a result of India being forced to signthe IPR treaty, under the WTO regime, Indian farmerswill now have to pay "royalties" to W. R. Grace forbuying a product that they had been using for centuries.

The ethical issue at bottom is the structure of the IPRtreaty? Whose rights are more important? Those of themillions of farmers or the patenting right of W. R. Grace?It would be the role of ethical discourse to bring to lightthe iniquitous role of such a treaty and initiate pubicdebate about its harmful effects for the millions offarmers in developing countries.

The power to transform

In a game where muscle power is important, where thereis no level battlefield, where parties start out with unequalresources, and varying handicaps, rational consensusand co-operation by fair exchange make no sense, forthey wil l only deepen the disparity.

Often when weaker nations sit at the same conferencewith stronger, eco-nomically more pow-erful nations, agree-ments are "suppos-edly" reached ongrounds of mutual,

shared, rational, cooperation. What this means is that theso-called orderly arrangement works to the eventualdetriment of the weak and the advantage of the strong.However, when ethical issues are brought in, the posi-tion changes. Ethics is a level battlefield. Consensusbecomes a contested terrain and the eventual decisionarrived at is negotiated less disadvantageously for theweaker party.

It is the task and the role of NGOs and other agents incivil society to "shift" the environmental discussion tothe ethical plane, and to use the power of the media andthe internet to "inform" the public and thereby put"pressure" on the powerful to revise their unjustenvironmental policies.

Ethical discourse does have transforming power. If it canbe channeled by the agents of civil society along with theinternet and media, it is our only peg on which we can pinhopes to stop the wanton destruction of nature and theunjust deprivation of fellow human beings. •

Excerpts from a paper by JohnD'Mello presented at the meetingof the Task Group on Indicators for Sustainable Communities onApril 7-8, 1999 at Mumbai.

eco-ethic 7

<title>An Ethical Framework for Sustainable Communities</title><publication>eco-ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>One of the painful realizations today is that the depletionof resources and the destruction of nature have beenallowed to take place in favour of so-called benefits ofgrowth. There is now concern and even anger whetherthe benefits have really justified the damage incurred. Anethical question that arises is whether a different set ofpriorities may be required as part of a solution to environ-mental problems. An even more serious ethical problemis that the group of people causing the environmentalproblems is quite different from the group of peopleexperiencing them. Hence, environmental imbalancesare inextricably tied up with the issue of ethics.</description><entrydt>24/08/2008</entrydt><sd>BV</sd>

Parajuli's ParadigmIndicators of Sustainable Communities

eco-ethic

For the purpose of initiating a discussion on indicators,I would like to borrow from Pramod Parajuli* (a Nepalesescholar and activist), who talks about "ethno-ecologicalcommunity-based mode of self-governance", which Itake as a useful cue towards evolving the definition of a"sustainable" community. In this connection he providesfive areas for focus, which are being used to provide aclassification for the indicators for sustainablecommunities:

1. Community as a landscape of resistance;

2. Community as a source of regeneration;

3. Community as a site of critique;

4. Community as a site of organising; and

5. Community as a site of envisioning and presenting anetwork of meanings

1. Community as a landscape of resistance

• Ability to understand and discern the various dimen-sions of resource use and degeneration.

• Ability to make livelihoods and entitlements secure formembers around resource use which is ecologicallyregenerative, rather than destructive.

• Ability of communities to take control over politicalprocesses that affect them, and asserting their right todo so. Ability to insist on participation in decision-making related to all projects affecting them.(Implication: participatory forms of managementcannot just be added on to the traditional repertoire ofdevelopment policies).

e Ability to reassert community identity through a processof collective reflection and organisation, and therebystaking claims for dignity and cultural autonomy.Availability of the social energy of the community (asa collective power) in order to command respect as acollective, as to the nature of their existence, and therelationship with the resources.

• Availability of the legal and political leverage requiredfor negotiating with the economic and political elite.

• Ability of community organisations to operate freefrom direct administrative and political control by thestate (with equitable bargaining of each stakeholderbringing about a balance between community interestsand national/global interests).

• Ability to counter all forms of unsustainable interventions(need for a strong community organisation - whichprevents all forms of colonial practices).

• Ability of organisations to be vigilant and effective inorder to ensure that some basic rules of behaviour inrelation to the use of resources are respected.

2. Community as a source of regeneration

• Ability to meet the essential needs (livelihood) of thecommunity without despoiling the environment(drinking water, fodder, fuel and timber, agriculturalproductivity).

• Self-reliance, implying the reduction of dependence onexternal forces, but at the same time forging enablingexternal economic, social and political relationships.

• Ability to gain leverage over their circumstances,through resistance and/or the development of moreautonomous, localised, production processes.

3. Community as a site of critique

• Ability to assess and understand the source of socio-economic inequalities (gender, race, caste and class).

• Ability to organise struggles around the access to, anddistribution of economic resources, particular policiesor control over decision-making processes.

• Ability to promote a simple lifestyle, reduced use ofenergy and material consumption.

• Parajuli, P. & Kothari, S. (1998) Struggling for Autonomy: Lessons fromlocal governance in Development Vol. 41 No 3 September, Sage Publi-cations, Rome.

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• Ability to question the transfer of technologies towardsbeing eco-friendly and sustainable, and promotingindependence rather than dependence.

• Ability of community organisations to make the statemore accountable and transparent in all its dealings.

4. Community as a site of organising

• Growth of social energy of the community supportedby the presence of powerful, honest and articulateleaders at the helm, who are also able to commandsufficient political space to influence macro processes.

• Ability to promote grassroots governance that is essentialto build genuine self-reliance and sustainability, whichis accountable and responsible to the ground.

• Ability to work not only at local, national or regionallevels, but also globally, supported by sustained andinformed participation at all levels.

• Ability to strategize carefully by building tactical linkswith other groups and movements, which are onnegotiated terms and based on clear understandingbetween all concerned.

• Promotion of the process of collective empowermentbased on two basic factors: the existence of enoughsocial energy (ideas, leadership, organisational capacity,trust, minimum access to other productive resources)to carry the process forward; and the existence ofpolitical space within which this process can unfold.

5. Community as a site of envisioning and presentinga network of meanings.

• Presence of conviction and commitment to promotinga positive relationship of humankind with theenvironment (ecosystem-sensitive communitiesbelieving in the celebration and regeneration of life,sustainable food sheds or of community-supportedagriculture).

• Promotion of enabling power (social energy), whichserves, cares for others, builds and strengthenscommunity bonds.

• Promotion of sustainable resource management basedon equity, efficiency, social justice and ecologicalharmony.

• Ability to promote the collaborative management ofnatural resources, involving a partnership between anorganised community and state agencies.

• Ability to continuously reaffirm community space andrelate with national and/or the global forces.

• Ability to continuously redefine needs, and distinguishbetween the different forms of consumption, and theirroles in advancing or constraining a sustainabledevelopment process.

• As consumers, willingness and ability to mobiliseconsumer power in support of social and environmentalcauses through strategic alliances.

There is a lot of overlap between the differentclassifications. However, the critical component is theneed for social energy (collective power) of thecommunity, which is required for directing change. Thepath towards sustainable development therefore is aconscious, active process, where communities developtheir own capacities in becoming sustainable in order toinfluence policies and practices that influence them. •

Excerpts from a paper by MaveenSoaresPereira presented at themeeting of the Task Group on Indicators for SustainableCommunities on April 7-8, 1999 at Mumbai.

eco-ethic 9

<title>Parajuli's Paradigm : Indicators of Sustainable Communities</title><publication>Eco-ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>For the purpose of initiating a discussion on indicators,I would like to borrow from Pramod Parajuli* (a Nepalesescholar and activist), who talks about "ethno-ecologicalcommunity-based mode of self-governance", which Itake as a useful cue towards evolving the definition of a"sustainable" community. In this connection he providesfive areas for focus, which are being used to provide aclassification for the indicators for sustainablecommunities:</description><entrydt>24/08/2008</entrydt><sd>BV</sd>

Mondragon

Doug Israel, Campus Green Vote Northwest Director

eco-ethic

The collapse of Eastern bloc Communism and theescalating social and ecological breakdown in capitalistcountries has recently spurred increased discussion amongintellectuals and activists on alternative economic visions.Many of these alternatives have been speculativeproposals for democratically controlled, non-marketsystems.

Author, Roy Morrison shuns this speculative approachand presents instead the Mondragon cooperative net-work in the Basque region of Spain, a non-authoritarian,market model rooted in decades of practice. In We Buildthe Road as We Travel, Morrison undertakes a compre-hensive description of the Mondragon cooperatives thatgoes beyond a conventional economic analysis. Whilerevealing great admiration for Mondragon's coopera-tors, the book critically assesses the cooperative as anopen-ended social experiment, bringing to bear a broadcultural perspective and a theory of social transformationthat stresses unity in diversity and individual freedom inthe context of community. Morrison argues that workerco-ops like Mondragon can play a key role in a globaltransition away from hierarchical and ecologically de-structive economic structures.

Mondragon is a cooperative system of over 150 indi-vidual cooperatives with 21,000 worker-owners spreadover several provinces of northwestern Spain. The coop-eratives are diverse and complementary to one another,they include high-tech industrial firms, agricultural net-works, schools, retail stores, housing complexes, a coop-erative bank, research and development institutes, and aco-op that provides welfare benefits. The cooperativesare formally democratic along the lines of one person/one vote in assemblies.

The Mondragon system has developed various businessstructures and practices over its 30-year history to ensureits continual expansion even through economic depres-sion and France's repression. One essential economicinnovation is a system of internal capital accounts forworker-owners that prevents ownership shares and votesof Mondragon from being sold to outsiders, thus guaran-teeing that control of the co-op remains in the hands of itsworkers.

The history of Mondragon goes back to 1943, when aBasque priest, Jose Maria Arizmendianieta (whose writ-ings are quoted throughout the book), started a training

Book Reviewi

Seven Wonders: Everyday Things for a Healthier Planet opens with a question posed by the DalaiLama,w What would the world be like if everyone drove a motor car?" [Answer: We wouldn't havea world.]

Seven IVortc/ersprovides simple solutions to address persistent threats to our environment. Thebicycle, the condom, the ceiling fan, the clothesline, Pad Thai, the public library and the ladybuground out the list of seven wonders that could help each of us lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Witheach topic Seven Wonders gives sufficient background on the issue at hand and gives new insightinto related problems that are not so obvious to the average environmental ist. The creative and oftencomical look at these everyday ideas helps us come to a greater understanding of the criticalenvironmental issues of the day and gives us each an easy way to minimize our impact on the Earth.

Seven Wonders is published by Sierra Club Books. For more information contact Meg at [email protected]

10


school in Mondragon to provide education for workersexcluded from the local capitalist-controlled technicalinstitute.This first school was governed by communitymembers who provided financial support. As well astechnical training, Arizmendiarrieta's school includedsocial and ethical education that provided an importantongoing basis for Mondragon's cooperative spirit.

Thus, as Mondragon expanded from a single manufac-turing cooperative to its current size, these initial ele-ments of the project (community resources, democraticcontrol, and education) were developed into its financeinstitutions, such as the Caj a Laboral Popular (the WorkingPeople's Bank), its multi-layered decision makingstructures, and its 45,000-student school system. The

^fundamental principle and sensibility called equilibrio,which generally means balancing interests: the individualwith the community, the particular co-op with the wholeco-op system, the human interests of workers with thenecessities of the market, the co-op system and theenvironment, and so on. For the individual, equilibrio isa sense of freedom and community, in contrast to isolated"self-realization." For Mondragon, the pursuit ofequilibrio "is nothing less than the creation of a newreality," an alternative Morrison calls "ecologicalpostmodernism," an elaboration of diversity in societyseen as a part of nature.

There is no question of Mondragon being a proolem-free, ideal economic organization. It clearly suffers frommany of the ecological and social irrationalities of indus-trialism. Morrison argues that what makes Mondragon asignificant and even revolutionary social experiment,however, is its collective pursuit of equilibrio, especiallyin balancing community aspirations and concrete prac-tice within a global market economy governed by privatecorporations. Even if the revolutionary characterizationof Mondragon is not fully convincing, this study of thepractice of cooperation can provide important insightsand challenges to radicals striving to create their ownbalance between egalitarian theory and practice in themidst of advanced capitalism and the Disneyland spec-tacles of Western industrial societies. Mondragon is aparticipatory process.

Morrison's postmodernist perspective on Mondragon isclear: In attempting to create new social systems, "Ourtask is not to spin Utopian webs, but to clarify and explainwhat is already in process, what is implicit in a complexreality..." •

From a Review in Z-Magazine by Paul Fleckenstein on the bookby Roy Morrison, We Build the Road as We Travel. Essential BookPublishers

Rags to Riches!

A special case of the poor promoting the cause of the environment at a great cost to themselvesneeds attention. This is the case of urban ragpickers helping waste recovery and recycling. Morethan half the urban workers - sometimes even 75 per cent of them - eke out a meagre living ininformal sectors. Women and children earn particularly low incomes. Waste-picking is oneoccupation where women and chi Idren dominate. As poor parents almost force their children tosupplement their meagre earnings, children account for the bulk of the workers engaged in waste-picking. A survey in Bangalore showed that about 8.6 per cent of the total waste generated and14.4 per cent of the waste received is taken care of by waste-pickers.

Waste-pickers have to be distinguished from traders in waste and retail collectors of usednewspapers. Also a lot of waste is turned into compost in several cities. The waste-pickers areoutside the purview of this endeavour. The traders usual ly concentrate on glass, metals and plasticmaterials.

Source : M.V. Nadkarni, Poverty, Environment, Development: A Many-Patterned Nexus, EPW, April 1,2000.

eco-ethic 11

<title>Mondragon</title><author>Doug Israel</author><publication>Eco-ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>The collapse of Eastern bloc Communism and theescalating social and ecological breakdown in capitalistcountries has recently spurred increased discussion amongintellectuals and activists on alternative economic visions.Many of these alternatives have been speculativeproposals for democratically controlled, non-marketsystems.</description><entrydt>24/08/2008</entrydt><sd>BV</sd>

Drought: Misplaced Priorities & Misuse

eco-ethic12

(There is scarcity of water and fodder, no doubt, causedby shortfall in rainfall, but the situation is not as bad yetas it is made out to be. Gargi Parsai and SunnySebastian tour the affected areas of Gujarat andRajasthan and uncover a tale of misplaced priorities andmisuse of scarce water.)

In fact, a visit to parts of Kutch and Saurashtra showedthat much of the drought situation - as of today - appearsto be media hype. State politics also took over and bothRajasthan and Gujarat are alleged to have over-playedthe situation to get a large share of Central funds. In thecase of Gujarat, the drought came in handy for bashingthe Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), especially whenthe Supreme Court was hearing a writ on the controver-sial Sardar Sarovar Project around the same time. Butwhat surprised most was the hasty appeal by the PrimeMinister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, seeking donationsfor drought even before the Central Government teamshad assessed the ground reality.

Saurashtra, Kutch and North Gujarat regions which areaffected by water scarcity suffer from a conflict ofinterest. The conflict is between urban use and rural use,and within the rural areas, between agriculture use anddrinking water. It is clear that drinking water has beenthe last priority in this region which cultivates groundnut,cotton, millets, wheat, corn and now sugarcane in someparts. Industrial use is also heavy and a priority. Thereare numerous dams in the region and several havebecome defunct from silting and poor maintenance. Yet

it is made out as though the Sardar Sarovar dam willsolve all the water problems of Saurashtra and Kutch.

So intensive has been the over-exploitation of groundwater in this village that Ms. Jiyaben wants to go to adepth of 2500 feet!

But just three km away from Kasturba-dham is RajSamdiyala village where ground water is available at 50feet. The village Sarpanch here, Mr. Hardev SinghJedeja, who has been Sarpanch since 1974, has createdwater bodies which are still gurgling with water. Someof the stop-dam streams which came alive during the lastmonsoon have dried up, but the wells here have watersand the bore wells yield potable water.

The world has started taking a closer look at the droughtthrough the lens of the TV camera - this perhaps has ledto the present panic on the drought situation. At any timeof the year, the desert is inhospitable and life is harsh forits inhabitants. Even in the best of the times, ruralRajasthan presents a picture of misery during summer.

The details may be part of the current realpolitik. TheRajasthan Government has sought an assistance ofRs.l 145 crores from the Centre's Calamity Relief Fundin November last. But what the State got was Rs. 102.90crores. While the ruling Congress(I) blamed the B JP atthe Centre for delaying release of funds, the oppositionBJP in the State blamed the ruling party for delay in((starting relief operations. •

Source: The Hindu, Sunday, April 30, 2000

Riots for waterHere is something for those who would not believe that the wars of this century will be fought overwater-related issues. Three people died and 20 were injured on December 14 in Falla village, 28km from Jamnagar town of Gujarat, when the police opened fire on a mob of about 300 people fromthe neighbouring rural area. The people had gathered to protest against the state government'sdecision to reserve water from the nearby Kankavati Dam for Jamnagar town — a decision favouringurban people at the cost of rural folk. The dam has become the only source of water for about 60villages near Falla, and has very little water. This year, the rainfall recorded in this area was 148millimetres (mm), compared to the annual average of 550mm. People of the area point out that thegroundwater has become saline due to over extraction.

Source : Manish Tiwari, Jamnagar/Rajkot, Down to Earth, January 15,2000.


<title>Drought: Misplaced Priorities & Misuse</title><author>Gargi Parsai and Sunny Sebastian</author><publication>Eco-ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>In fact, a visit to parts of Kutch and Saurashtra showedthat much of the drought situation - as of today - appearsto be media hype. State politics also took over and bothRajasthan and Gujarat are alleged to have over-playedthe situation to get a large share of Central funds. In thecase of Gujarat, the drought came in handy for bashingthe Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), especially whenthe Supreme Court was hearing a writ on the controver-sial Sardar Sarovar Projectaround the same time. Butwhat surprised most was the hasty appeal by the PrimeMinister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, seeking donationsfor drought even before the Central Government teamshad assessed the ground reality.</description><entrydt>24/08/2008</entrydt><sd>BV</sd>

The Bellagio Principles

eco-ethic

Background

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment andDevelopment (Brundtland Commission) called for thedevelopment of new ways to measure and assess progresstoward sustainable development. In response, significantefforts to assess performance have been made bycorporations, non-government organisations, academics,communities, nations, and international organisations.In November 1996, an international group ofmeasurement practitioners and researchers from fivecontinents came together at the Rockefeller Foundation' sStudy and Conference Centre in Bellagio, Italy to review

^ rogress to date and to synthesize insights from practicalongoing efforts. The attached principles resulted andwere unanimously endorsed.

Overview

These principles deal with four aspects of assessingprogress toward sustainable development. Principle 1deals with the starting point of any assessment -establishing a vision of sustainable development andclear goals that provide a practical definition of thatvision in terms that are meaningful for the decision-making unit in question. Principles 2 through 5 deal withthe content of any assessment and the need to merge asense of the overall system with a practical focus oncurrent priority issues. Principles 6 through 8 deal withj^ey issues of the process of assessment, while principles' and 10 deal with the necessity for establishing acontinuing capacity for assessment.

1. Guiding Vision and Goals

Assessment of progress toward sustainable developmentshould be guided by a clear vision of sustainabledevelopment and goals that define that vision.

2. Holistic Perspective

Assessment of progress toward sustainable developmentshould:

• Include review of the whole system as well as it parts.

• Consider the well-being of social, ecological, andeconomic sub-systems, their state as well as the directionand rate of change of that state, of their component parts,

and the interaction between parts.

• Consider both positive and negative consequences ofhuman activity, in a way that reflects the costs andbenefits for human and ecological systems, in monetaryand non-monetary terms.

3. Essential Elements


• Consider equity and disparity within the currentpopulation and between present and future generations,dealing with such concerns as resource use, over-consumption and poverty, human rights, and access toservices, as appropriate.

• Consider the ecological conditions on which lifedepends.

• Consider economic development and other, non-marketactivities that contribute to human/social well-being.

4. Adequate Scope


• Adopt a time horizon long enough to capture bothhuman and ecosystem time scales thus responding toneeds of future generations as well as those current toshort term decision-making.

• Define the space of study large enough to include notonly local but also long distance impacts on people andecosystems.

• Build on historic and current conditions to anticipatefuture conditions - where we want to go, where wecould go.

5. Practical Focus

Assessment of progress toward sustainable developmentshould be based on:

• An explicit set of categories or an organising frame-work that links vision and goals to indicators andassessment criteria.

• A limited number of key issues for analysis.


• A limited number of indicators or indicator combi-nations to provide a clearer signal or progress.

• Standardizing measurement wherever possible topermit comparison.

• Comparing indicator values to targets, referencevalues, ranges, thresholds, or direction of trends, asappropriate.

6. Openness

Assessment of progress toward sustainable develop-ment should:

• Make the methods and data that are used accessible toall.

• Make explicit all judgments, assumptions, and uncer-tainties in data and interpretations.

7. Effective Communication


• Be designed to address the needs of the audience andset of users.

• Draw from indicators and other tools that arestimulating and serve to engage decision-makers.

• Aim, from the outset, for simplicity in structure anduse of clear and plain language.

8. Broad Participation


• Obtain broad representation of key grass roots, profes-

sional, technical and social groups, including youth,women, and indigenous people - ensure recognition ofdiverse and changing values.

• Ensure the participation of decision-makers to securea firm link to adopted policies and resulting action

9. Ongoing Assessment


• Develop a capacity for repeated measurement todetermine trends.

• Be iterative, adaptive, and responsive to change anduncertainty because systems are complex and changefrequently. d

• Adjust goals, frameworks, and indicators as newinsights are gained.

• Promote development of collective learning andfeedback to decision making.

10. Institutional Capacity

Continuity of assessing progress toward sustainabledevelopment should be assured by:

• clearly assigning responsibility and providing ongoingsupport in the decision- making process.

• Providing institutional capacity for data collection,maintenance, and documentation.

• Supporting development of local assessmentcapacity. •

http:iisdl.iisd.ca/measure/bellagiol.htm

Nature ApathyThe real difficulty with sustaining a useful connection with nature, though, comes from the fact thatnature does not seek to make a connection with us. It is a hard truth to swallow, but nature doesnot care if we live or die. We cannot survive without the oceans, for example, but they can do justfine without us. One might surmise that the natural world exists to test our capacity to care or topreserve ourselves, but even that little fancy is man-made. Nature goes its own way, headless andheartless, and one either responds to it or does not. The incentive to do one or the other is whollyself-generated: information is gathered, proposals are put forward, solutions are devised, EarthDays come and go.

Roger Rosenblatt A l l the Days of the Earth, Time Special Edition, Earth Day 2000.

eco-ethic14

<title>The Bellagio Principles</title><publication>Eco-ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>In 1987, the World Commission on Environment andDevelopment (Brundtland Commission) called for thedevelopment of new ways to measure and assess progresstoward sustainable development. In response, significantefforts to assess performance have been made bycorporations, non-government organisations, academics,communities, nations, and international organisations.In November 1996, an international group ofmeasurement practitioners and researchers from fivecontinents came together at the Rockefeller Foundation' sStudy and Conference Centre in Bellagio, Italy to review^ rogress to date and to synthesize insights from practicalongoing efforts. </description><entrydt>24/08/2008</entrydt><sd>BV</sd>

Energy Efficiency And A Low Carbon-Use World Economy

eco-ethic 15

"Long before we completely run out off fossil fuels... theenvironmental and health burdens of using them mayforce us toward a cleaner energy system," WorldwatchInstitute, State of the World 1999.

Contrary to popular perceptions, some of the poorestcountries on earth are also the most economic users ofenergy. Comparing the amount of dollars of economicoutput generated for every kilogram of fossil fuels usedcommercially, demonstrates clearly that the leastdeveloped countries are nearly twice as efficient as all theindustrialised countries combined. Their efficiency can

cbe in spite of attempts to wean poor countries onto theIsame profligate path of energy use exemplified by theUS.

Shifting toward a low-fossil fuel energy strategy opensup a range of opportunities for more environmentallyfriendly and renewable energy sources. According tothe World Energy Council such sources 'offer a verylong-term promise for a permanent solution' to energyproblems. Even the oil company Shell admits thatrenewables could take over 50 per cent of the energymarket by 2050. The appeal of diversifying intorenewables rests on low costs, availability of sources,security and relative environmental friendliness. Becausemost renewables function well away from national energygrids, they are also flexible, good at supplying remote

irural areas and lend towards greater communal self-sufficiency. They can be literally 'empowering'.

The development of technology for solar energy,photovoltaics (PV) may have enormous potential butthere are many sources available. In 1991 Nicaraguawas gaining 28 per cent of its power from geothermalenergy, Kenya 9 per cent. Both the Philippines andMexico are major producers and it is thought that countrieslike Djibouti and St Lucia could meet all their energysources in this way. Biomass fuels have been usedeffectively in Zimbabwe allowing some farmingdiversification and easing dependence on expensive oilimports. Ethanol, produced from sugar cane, fuels halfof the cars in Brazil.

Wind power, both land-based and offshore, is flexible,reliable, competitive in price and getting cheaper. It is

being treated as a serious energy option in countriesfrom India and China to Mexico. Not only does thisprovide non-fossil fuel energy solutions, it also createsopportunities for manufacturing and employment.

Every year the uptake of solar power increases. AcrossSouth Africa, Colombia, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico andthe Dominican Republic households are turning to solarpower to help meet their energy needs. Prices for solartechnology are falling and major multinational energycompanies are slowly increasing their investment in theface of continuing dependence on fossil fuels. In ruralareas poorly served by grids, solar power can provideindependence as well as energy.

Measures to increase energy efficiency are seen by manyas a fuel source in their own right. Improved energyefficiency could cut by up to half the need for newgenerating capacity in countries like Brazil, India andChina.

Promoting these sort of measures is a major challenge forthe international aid community. But major creditors likethe World Bank continue to fund environmentallyobsolete fossil fuel based industrialisation.

In the last decade the World Bank spent under $1.6billion on projects promoting climate friendly energyoptions. However, during the 1990's the Bank spent$ 12 billion, over seven times as much, promoting non-climate friendly energy projects. The earlier savings onemissions by the friendly technologies were more thancancelled out.

In addition, the Bank's lending on non-fossil fuel energyprojects has been criticised for its prominent focus on'giant dams and thermal power plants,' rather than smallscale renewables accessible to poor people.

Without realistic financial assistance, debt relief andlong-promised clean technology transfer, many poorcountries wil l continue to depend on readily available'dirty' fuel sources like coal. •

Who owes who? Climate Change, Debt, Equity And Survival,Christian Aid, Published 1999.


<title>Energy Efficiency And A Low Carbon-Use World Economy</title><publication>Eco-ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>"Long before we completely run out off fossil fuels... theenvironmental and health burdens of using them mayforce us toward a cleaner energy system," WorldwatchInstitute, State of the World 1999.Contrary to popular perceptions, some of the poorestcountries on earth are also the most economic users ofenergy.</description><entrydt>24/08/2008</entrydt><sd>BV</sd>ext

Living Religion

Banwari, the day-editor of Jansata (sic), a Hindi dailynewspaper published in Delhi, has made a detailed studyof the forest culture of India for a book he is writing. Hespoke to me of his findings.

'The Hindu idea is that this whole world is a forest. Tokeep this world as it is we have to keep the world-forestintact. Hinduism describes everything in terms of divinityand in relation to the Ultimate Reality. The differentaspects of this Ultimate Reality are all to be found in thevarious forms of the physical world.

'Every physical object symbolizes some aspect of Reality.Amongst these, the forest symbolizes the divine attributeof "totality", combining all life forms together in a singleinterdependent whole.

'In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna compares the world to asingle banyan tree with unlimited branches in which allthe species of animals, humans and demigods wander.Indian consciousness is full of trees and forests. Thebond between Indian people and trees is very strong.

'Hindu tradition describes three basic categories offorest. One is shrivan, the forest which provides yourprosperity. Then there is tapovan, where you cancontemplate as the sages did and seek after truth. Thethird is mahavana - the great natural forest where allspecies of life find shelter. Each of these categories mustbe preserved.'

Once some of the original forest, mahavana, was cleared,however, Vedic culture required that another kind offorest be established in its place. To remove the forestwas simply not acceptable. It was the source of naturalwealth such as fodder, timber, roots and herbs. Moreoverthe trees guaranteed the fertility of the soil and purifiedthe air and water. Therefore the villages each preservedsections of forest for their own specific needs. Theseforests were different from the mahavana, the wild forestor jungle, because they were open for exploitation andharvesting according to strictly ecological practices.

This kind of forest was called shrivan, which literallymeans forest of wealth - they were the basis of thecommunity's prosperity.

Each village was responsible through its panchayat, orcommittee of five elders, for maintaining the forests in itsown locality. No village would be complete without itscorresponding woodlands in and around its houses. AsBanwari explains:

'The village has many things - it is not significant onlybecause of its human population. It is significant becauseof its water, because of its animals and because of itstrees. According to tradition, a village will be a full entityonly when there are certain categories of forest or treesin and around it. This is called shrivan, the forest ofprosperity.'

The other category of forest is tapovan, the home of thesages. This kind of forest is natural and untended, but isspecifically set aside as a place for the practice ofreligion. Why should a forest be required for religion?The answer is found in the meaning of the name tapovan:tapa means penance and vana means forest. The life ofa rishi, a holy person, is meant to be one of self-controland penance, through diet, simple living, renunciation ofbelongings and meditation. From this profoundlynatural setting emerged the Vedic teachings of theUpanishads such as a Brihad-Aranyaka, which means'The teaching which began in the forest'.

'What is your image of the world?' Banwari asks:

' I f your image of the world includes all things which arenaturally there, then you wil l keep this world intact bykeeping all those things intact. If your world is narrow,revolving around man and his desires, then your worldwill exclude things which don't fall into that scheme. I fyour image of the world is complete then you will restrictyour actions so that they don't harm creation. Forest, atone level, means the world. It includes the wholecreation. You are also part of that forest. It is not that youare outside the forest. In India, the world is mahavana.You can reorder it, but you cannot be outside it . ' •

Source : Ranchor Prime, Hinduism And Ecology, 1992.


<title>Living Religion</title><publication>Eco-ethic</publication><pubDate>01/04/2000</pubDate><description>Banwari, the day-editor of Jansata (sic), a Hindi dailynewspaper published in Delhi, has made a detailed studyof the forest culture of India for a book he is writing. Hespoke to me of his findings.'The Hindu idea is that this whole world is a forest. Tokeep this world as it is we have to keep the world-forestintact.</description><entrydt>24/08/2008</entrydt><sd>BV</sd>

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